Will of Fire, Strength of the Heart
by Darkness' Forbidden Scribe
Summary: I'm a girl, and I will be the most powerful ninja, not kunoichi, in history. When did I say I was a boy?" She walks a path paved with hatred of the blind, but is not alone. Vermillion Bird and Kyuubi no Kitsune will guide and protect the child of Destiny.
1. The Fox's Tale

_Legend_

_Nine years ago, Konohagakure no Sato was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The destruction caused by the fox was immense; countless Shinobi died protecting their village and many innocent lives were taken. _

_Finally, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure stepped up onto the battlefield. With him, he carried a newborn baby. When he confronted Kyuubi, he used the Shiki Fuujin no Jutsu to summon the Shinigami to seal the Great Fox into the child. The dying man's last words were that the child was to be treated like a hero, for it was merely the container of the Kyuubi, not the demon itself. _

_Unfortunately, the villagers only saw the demon that destroyed their homes and family. They treated the Jinchuuriki like a piece of trash, like he wasn't worth their kindness. And so, the child, Uzumaki Naruto, grew up hated by his own village for something he wasn't in control of. _

_In truth, the seal on his stomach not only sealed the demon but sealed his, or rather her, true self. Namikaze Naru, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and heir to the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans was sealed away, and in her place Uzumaki Naruto came into being. But Naru wasn't clueless of who she was; she knew everything and she kept up a mask so that the enemies of her parents wouldn't find her. The one thing she didn't know about was the Kyuubi. And so her story begins on October 10, her ninth birthday._

Chapter One: The Fox's Tale

'Damn it! I should've known not to come out today!' Thought Naru as blows rained down on her.

A mob had caught her and chased her down an ally. They had grabbed whatever they could find that was either hard, pointy, sharp or all three when they saw 'the Kyuubi Brat'. They were using all of said things to beat her up. She thought that they would never stop. When they finally left, Naru was pretty sure she had broken at least one fractured rib. She carefully took stock of pain, and found several cuts and bruises on her shoulders, back and arms. She slowly sat up, trying to keep as much pressure off of her ribs as she could. When she lifted her head, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and her world descended into darkness. The last thing she saw was a pair of spinning red eyes and wings.

When she gained consciousness, she saw that she was in front a huge sealed cage.

"Where am I?" asked Naru to herself. She didn't expect the answer that came.

"You're in your mind, kit. You couldn't handle all of the pain and you fainted. Tch! Those bakas have not a single ounce of common sense in them!" boomed an angry voice. Naru noticed that the voice was coming from the inside of the cage.

"Umm…Who are you?" Asked Naru to whoever or what ever was in that cage.

"I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I was the one that attacked Konoha seven years ago, and before you jump to conclusions, hear me out, kit. It wasn't my fault," replied the Fox.

"I thought that it was you, but I wanted to make sure. It's not hard to put two and two together after hearing people call you demon and that your birthday is on the day the Kyuubi was 'supposedly' killed," said Naru.

'Smart kit,' thought the Kyuubi approvingly, 'She has the potential to become a true Kunoichi, and not those bimbos that call only care about getting mates through being a Shinobi.'

"Kit, I won't let you get hurt just because of lack of proper training as a Shinobi, and I won't let your potential go to waste either. I'll train you to be both my heir and the greatest Shinobi alive."

"Okay, Kyuubi, I accept. Now, can you tell me how the attack on Konoha was not your fault?" asked Naru.

"I'll tell you the long story tomorrow. In a nutshell, Orochimaru murdered all of my kits but one, and murdered my mate. I had gone into a rage when I saw their blood stained bodies in our den. Snake-bastard was a Sannin of Konoha, so I had thought that your village had ordered him to do so. Everything was blurry and I can't remember much until I got sealed into your stomach."

"What I do remember, though, is a man with yellow hair and blue eyes standing on a toad, and an infant's cry. The man was your father, Naru. You are the daughter of this village's savior, the Yondaime Hokage, and of my daughter, Uzumaki Kushina," explained Kyuubi. Naru blinked once at the fox before exclaiming,

"Wait a sec..._My mom_ was your daughter!?"


	2. The Sharingan Heir

Chapter Two: The Sharingan Heir

"So this means that I'm a half demon? Those villagers were right, in a sense," said Naru, looking a bit dazed.

"No, kit. They were wrong in every sense," snapped the Kyuubi, eyes as hard as rubies. His eyes softened as he explained, "They called you a demon to take their anger out at losing their loved ones on you, just because of me. You were innocent and they were wrong to judge you on what was not your doing. You were their scapegoat," after saying that, Kyuubi's ears perked up.

"What's wrong?" asked Naru.

"Seems like you have a visitor, Kit; Look behind you," said Kyuubi.

As Naru looked behind her, she saw a man who had black hair and spinning red eyes. Naru looked at him questioningly and said,

"Who are you?"

"I am Uchiha Itachi. You, little one, must be Namikaze Naru, am I right?" asked Itachi as he crouched down to eye level.

"Yup, that's me!" chirped Naru. 'Wow, he's nice, compared to everyone else...Wait a sec...How does he know me?'

"It's time to go back, little one. You have been gone far too long."

Naru was taken aback, and growled. "What do you mean, go back? Back to that place where everyone hates me!?" spat Naru, rage overwhelming the need to cry, "I'm treated worse than trash, for a stupid reason, and the blind need for a scapegoat!"

"Little one, you know that not everyone hates you. Hokage-sama, doesn't hate you, Ayame and the old man at the ramen stand don't hate you and neither do I. Personally, I think you are wasted on these villagers. They don't realize who you really are, the true hero of the village," replied Itachi in a soothing tone.

"...How do you know me, anyways?" asked Naru, her rage subsided while her curiosity reared its head. Curiosity may have killed the cat, yet Naru was not a cat, but a fox. Besides, where's the harm?

"Who do you think protects you from the worst of the mobs?" asked Itachi with a raised eyebrow, "They would have beaten you at least three times a day if I weren't protecting you. I was late today because of my brother. I was also the one who brought you back to your apartment when you fell unconscious in the worse beatings." answered Itachi, while standing up again. He directed his gaze to Kyuubi, and said,

"Well, Fox. Will you let me train her as well?"

"You have my permission, Uchiha. After all, the prophesied one is trained in the arts of Heaven, Hell and Earth. Don't kill her. She's just seven," said Kyuubi , amusement showing in his eyes.

The Uchiha merely smirked in response. Naru wasn't very amused, more like a tad freaked out. 'I think that anytime he smirks like that is the time someone dies,' thought Naru, a chill going down her spine.

"Don't I have a say in the matter?" Naru squeaked. Both Kyuubi and Itachi looked at her and replied,

"No."

'Well, how bad can it be?' thought Naru as she stood up.

"You wanted to take me back, right?" asked Naru to the Uchiha. He nodded and motioned for her to follow him.

"See you tomorrow, Kit," called Kyuubi as they walked away from the cage. Naru waved her hand, and then they faded out. 'Those villagers are going to regret ever laying a hand on my kit' thought The Demon Fox as he laid down, plotting revenge on his granddaughter's behalf.

Naru opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room. She looked to her left to find Itachi sitting next to her. As soon as she looked at him, he opened his eyes and asked gently,

"How are you feeling, little one?"

"Okay, considering I got mobbed again and found out that I'm the granddaughter of the Kyuubi no Kitsune," replied Naru wryly. "Besides, why is grandpa letting you train me?"

"Because he knows that letting me train you is one of the only things that might help you learn things that will help you survive in the Human Realm, since I've got the stronger version of the Sharingan from my weasel demon ancestor. Ironic, isn't it, that my name means weasel too, huh?" drawled Itachi, a wry smirk on his lips.

"I'll let you in on a secret. The reason the Sharingan even exists is because a six-tailed weasel demon fell for an Uchiha. The Sharingan came from that bijuu. That is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Uchiha clan, the pride of Konohagakure."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" inquired Naru.

"You needed to know the truth; that you are not the only one in this village with a demon's blood," said Itachi, opening a window, "Come on. We need to get you to Hokage-sama. He wishes to speak to you." He came back to the bed and picked Naru up, and then he literally jumped out of the open window. Within a few minutes, he landed in the Hokage Tower's top floor.

"Welcome, Itachi, Naru," said the Hokage. Naru was set on her feet as Itachi reached the desk that was filled with the bane of the Kages' existence; paperwork.

"Greetings, Sandaime-sama. Apologies for trespassing, but the other entrances could not be used for obvious reasons," said Itachi while standing in front of the Hokage.

"Oji-san! What's up?" called Naru before the Sandaime could say a thing to Itachi.

"Nothing much, except the paperwork is giving me the worst headache ever," replied the Sandaime Hokage while massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Oji-san, you _do_ know that you could use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu to finish the paper work, riiiiight?" asked Naru from behind Itachi. Naru had perused the forbidden library, and found the Shadow clone jutsu. She practiced it and mastered it, when no one was looking. She used it a couple of times to escape the mobs.

"Naru, do you have any idea how much work you've saved me and the future Kages of Konoha?" asked Sarutobi in surprise after he thought about it. 'I'm surprised _I_ didn't think of it! She is truly is _his_ daughter. But, she has he mother's blood in her as well.'

"Naru, I am going to assume that you have met the Kyuubi, right?" asked the Sandaime Hokage in a kind tone. Naru replied with a nod.

"Then you will need to train to control that power, and your inheritance. From your mother, you have inherited the throne of the Demon Foxes; your birthright as you are the granddaughter of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. From your father, you have inherited his lands, his house and his library. Mind you, that library is rather impressive. You could find almost any Jutsu out there, and even a few that aren't."

"Next year you will also be joining the Academy But, before that, Itachi will train you to protect yourself. And I think Kyuubi will be teaching you as well, so I don't have to worry about you getting insufficient training. That's what I wanted to tell you. Itachi will tell you the rest later, Goodbye and goodnight," said Sarutobi as he left to go into another room.

Naru looked at Itachi and asked,

"I'm going to go through hell, aren't I?"

Itachi chuckled and walked to the balcony. He motioned her to follow him. When she stood next to him, he crouched down to eye level and said,

"I will to tell you about your family and your inheritance in detail, and I will do so later. For now, let's get you to your apartment. Tomorrow, the training will begin, so get as much sleep as you can." Naru nodded and yawned tiredly. 'Tomorrow is going to be a long day.'


	3. Training and School Begins

**Disclaimer: **

**Roses are red,**

**Violets are blue,**

**I don't own,**

**So please don't sue.**

Chapter 3: Training, Leaving, and School

When Naru's head hit the pillow, she immediately fell asleep, but instead of dreaming, she was instantly transported to the back of her mind, where the Kyuubi resided. Instead of the sewer and dungeon that was there before, there now was a quiet green sunny field.

"Hello, Kit. Nice to see you again," greeted the Kitsune.

"Hi, Oji-san. Why am I here in the first place? I should be sleeping in my bed, right?" asked Naru, "And  
why am I not tired?"

"You're not tired because you are in your mind and the soul only tires after a lot of stress and a near-death experience or two. Time to train. Can you guess what's first on the syllabus?" asked Kyuubi.

"Uh… No. I have no idea what's first. Care to enlighten me, O great Oji-san?" replied Naru cheekily.

"Stop being fresh, kit. First is chakra molding. This, we do by meditating. Sit down and close your eyes. Breathe in on the count of seven, hold it  
for the count and exhale at the count. Find your chakra, and as soon as you do, manipulate it into your hands. Ready?" inquired the fox when he  
saw she was sitting down with her eyes closed.

"Ready." replied Naru.

"One...Two...Three...Four...Five..."

Kyuubi counted, and soon they both fell into a rhythm. Naru had found the chakra in her core, and started to slowly guide it to her hands. She felt heat on her hands, not so hot that it burned, but, and when she opened her eyes, and saw that her hands glowed with blue chakra. Naru looked to Kyuubi, who saw that she had finished the exercise. But it was morning, and Naru was woken up by Itachi. He took her out of the villiage to the near by forest to train. He trained her on taijutsu, and genjutsu, and the basic things the academy would be teaching so she would be able to work on other things her grandsire taught her. She even received her own weapon, courtesy of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's essence and Itachi's connections, even if said weapon was sealed into her body until she needed it in a life-or-death situation. She continued training with Kyuubi and Itachi, and got stronger every day. All of this went on till the beginning of the the school year.

On the night before her entrance to the academy, she was shaken awake by Itachi.

"Itachi? What's going on?" asked Naru somewhat groggily. A sharp, metalic scent hit her nose like a rock, which woke her up completely, "And why do I smell blood?" Itachi merely shook his head and put a finger to his lips.

"Naru,in a couple of years, The seal that the Yondaime placed on you will activate. That is when the Kyuubi's power and your chakra will start to mix due to the original seal's weakening. While this is not harmful to you, the villagers will panic, because you will start to change due to your bloodline and the close contact to your grandfather's powers. I can not say for sure how you will change, but just in case, the seal will make you seem normal and human, though it will not block your chakra," Itachi whispered this quickly, as if he had no time to waste.

"I will not be coming back to Konoha until my mission is complete. Kyuubi will supervise your training until the time is right. And be careful. It is better that the villagers think you are an idiot and not fearing you, than showing off and letting them know your true strength. A villiage that fears you is most likely to attack you. Remember that I would never hurt you, no matter what situation we're in," After he spoke those words, he kissed her on the forehead, "Stay safe, little fox."

"But where are you going? What's the mission about? Itachi!" cried Naru as Itachi disappeared. A bunch of what felt like feathers hit her, and made her black out. When she came to, Itachi was nowhere in sight, and she was surrounded by raven feathers.

* * *

Naru gathered each and every one of the feathers, and wove them into a makeshift sash. It took her all night, and only Kyuubi's chakra was preventing her from collapsing due to sleep deprivation. She dressed in her baggiest clothes and trudged to the Academy in her orange jumpsuit and sash.

_Hang on, kit. Keep pinching yourself so you don't fall asleep._

_How about you just scream if I do?_

_...Fine._

And with that, Naru headed to her first classroom, ignoring all of the whispered insults and glares sent her way. She barely made it in her classroom before the bell rang. She quickly chose one of the seats in the back, knowing she would be less likely to be caught sleeping in the back. As she slid into her seat, she nearly crshed into another girl in her rush to claim the seat.

"Oops! Sorry about that," Naru quickly apologized as she sat down.

"It's all right," said the other girl. She had short black hair, and white eyes, "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. What's yours?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naru," Naru did not have a chance to say any more because the teacher entered at that moment. He had brown hair and skin, and a scar on his nose. He seemed like a pansy. When he reached his desk, though, he did something they never expected.

"I know what schemes lie behind those cute little puppy-dog eyes of yours and they're not going to fool me!" shouted the teacher as he slammed his hands on the desk, "I was a class clown, too, so none of your tricks are going to work! Now, if any of you try any funny stuff, it's a one-way ticket to hell. Got it?" The kids in the class Just nodded mutely. They had never encountered a teacher like him.

"My name is Iruka, and you will call me Iruka-sensei. I will be teaching you along with Mizuki-sensei over there," He jerked his head to the pale haired teacher at the doorway, "And I'll be making your lives a living hell."

_Ooh, this is going to be interesting._

_Says you. You won't be doing the work he hands out._

_So true. *snicker*_

_Shut up, Kyuubi-oji-san!_

Naru looked closer at the sensei, and noticed that he had a scar on his nose.  
'Huh. I wonder where that came from.'

_Okay, kit, first lesson on your soon to be heightened senses._

_What? Hey, what are you talking about?_

_I'm talking about the senses you gained since yesterday. My chakra enhanced some of your senses,  
even after such a short time._

_Really? Hmmm._

_Kit, scent the air. what do you smell?_

Naru lifted her nose slightly, and discreetly sniffed. She detected a faintly sweet aroma coming from the teacher who introduced himself as Iruka, a fresh, clean scent of pine and roses. 'A fairly girly scent,' Naru thought, stifling a giggle. She sniffed again, not focusing on anything when she smelled something revolting.

_Ugh. What the heck is that smell?_

_That, my dear kitling, is the scent of a dog._

_Really? And I thought puppies were cute._

_Nope. They're quite revolting._

She sniffed again, this time smelling something fairly pleasant, like jasmine and rosemary. It was coming from Hinata.

_She is going to be a good friend. So stick close to her, and your teacher. Anyone who smells pleasant are with no malicious intent towards you._

Before Naru could dodge it, a piece of chalk hit her forehead. She yelped in surprise and fell backwards on to the floor. Hinata was looking down at her apologetically, her elbow in the place where Naru's ribs were.

"I would appreciate having everyone's undivided attention. That includes you, Uzumaki." There was a chorus of giggles. Naru got up off of the floor, and sat back in her seat. She turned to Hinata and smiled sheepishly. Naru took her notepad and wrote a note to her saying 'sorry'. Hinata turned a flaming red and wrote back that it was no problem. Naru just stared at her confused at why she was blushing.

_She thinks you're a boy, kit._

_But why? I don't look like a boy..._

_You cut your hair recently, remember? Cuz of all the tree sap from training..._

_Oh...Wait, does that mean the teachers think I'm a boy too?_

_Just maybe, kit. Just maybe...Hopefully they do. Then you can skip the useless things they teach the kunoichi._

Naru discreetly rubbed her forehead where the chalk struck. She saw/sensed that the dog scent was coming from one of her class mates. She asked Hinata who the boy with the fuzzy hood was. He was Kiba of the Inuzuka clan, a clan that specializes in nin-dog breeding. Which explained the wet dog smell.

Naru turned to the front to actually pay attention to what Iruka-sensei was saying. She relearned about the basics of jutsu, and learned the history of the kages. She had already learned the basics from Itachi, and some jutsu, but the history intrigued her. She hadn't known about the Kages, and the war of the shinobis. The Kyuubi hardly paid attention to humans and their wars because, of course, he's a demon, and they think the wars were a waste of time.

And Kyuubi was right. They did think Naru was a boy, and so did Hinata. But Naru remained friends with Hinata, and asked her about what she learned in the classes the Kunoichi took...And was infinitely grateful that they thought she was a boy. The Kunoichi had to learn all of these useless things, like flower arranging, how to catch a guy, etc, etc. Bo-RING! Hinata has her clan teaching her, so she is actually getting taught how to fight out of school. Girls like Sakura, however, who are the first in their famlies to become kunoichis, only get taught by Iruka how to control their Chakra and how to fight in class. Out of class is a whole different story. Basically, all she talked about was Sasuke. Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Oh the poor orphaned Uchiha! Ugh. It was enough to make one sick.

Kiba Inuzuka, the guy with the dog smell, actually was pretty decent. It was just the dog smell that threw her off, because he actually had a dog with him. His name was Akamaru, and he and can actually talk...once he gets over the fact that Naru was a fox. Through he and Hinata, Naru met Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, Choji, Ino Yamanaka, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga and Tenten. And their friendship would save Naru one day, she knew it.

What she did not know was that the day would come so soon.

* * *

**A Gift for all those people who reviewed for me:**

**An extra long chappie!**

**I hope you review. Reviews motivate me to keep on writing. **

**Thanks to my lovely, generous beta, Imperial Mint.***

***Read her stories. They are awesome.**


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